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Falling Skies Finale Review: It's Over... For Now

Carla Day
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September 1, 2014 2:26 am.
Updated at
September 1, 2014 6:33 am.
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To the moon and back again.

That was at least the plan on the Falling Skies Season 4 finale. In reality, the journey to the moon didn't quite work out the way they planned it. While the logistics of the trip were problematic, it did end up being more emotional than expected when Lexi took Ben's place on the ship.

The finale was a mixed bag of the good, the bad and the ugly. The first hour, Falling Skies Season 4 Episode 11, started out well with how Lexi's return was handled. It was painful to watch both Tom and Anne turn their back on their daughter. Viewers knew the truth about what Lexi went through and her intentions, while her parents and the rest of the 2nd Mass didn't know what to believe.

While Pope shouldn't have shot Lexi, I was glad to see that he wasn't punished for his action. She was fine after all. Weaver was able to look at the situation from a different perspective. It wasn't even so much about his own daughter as it was about what was the best for the group. Lexi was their best hope for getting to the moon and back.

The rest of the first hour was a bit of a mess. It was smart to put Tom in the cocoon to survive, but I didn't appreciate the trick that we were supposed to believe he slept through the mission and made it back with Lexi safely. That's been played so many times on the series that it's been overused.

While I hated the trick, I did appreciate the bonding that occurred between Tom and Lexi once they realized they were sharing dreams. It allowed Tom to see Lexi for who she really was and for them to feel each other's pain. She desperately wanted forgiveness, while he was filled with regret and the desire to forgive his daughter. It was honest and heartfelt.

On the second hour, Falling Skies Season 4 Episode 12, the 2nd Mass were dealing with a Skitter smoke bomb. That was one of the oddest weapons that we've seen so far. In theory, I liked the idea. Since the Espheni planned on turning humans into Skitters, it was the perfect weapon to use. The problem I had was with the events after it hit Chinatown.

Given the massive casualties the scouts had when they encountered a Skitter smoke bomb, it was unbelievable how many of the 2nd Mass survived. They were in a better environment for survival than those in the wilderness, but Pope and Dingaan's survival was ridiculous. They were both near by the bomb and should have at critters all over them.

Pope's teeth saved the day, but why didn't he have skitter critters all over him? He was loud enough! And, Sarah showing up and shooting it off Dingaan's chest without hitting him or Pope. Wow. Sorry, didn't buy it. Oh well. They all made it so they can be in the final season. I was glad to see Sarah back and reunited with Pope. They both could use some happiness.

I loved Anne with her fire gun. That just beats out Weaver and Matt's chanting as the best moment during the attack. Given the severity of the attack, it was surprising that everyone was so close to death or turning, but then ended up okay.

The space mission wasn't as lucky. After waking up from the cocoon, Tom and Lexi found out the bomb didn't make it and Lexi couldn't use her powers in space. That created a major problem, but ended up being secondary when they were found out by the Espheni. Tom was reunited with the Overlord he burned.

That confrontation was just as disappointing as the one on the ground with the Espheni bomb. Mira showed up in the "Karen" role. (How convenient!) It felt contrived as a way to get Lexi to have to steer the Beamer into the Espheni power source on the moon. Tom had no choice but to let her sacrifice herself for the mission. It was her way of making good for all the wrong she did.

While how they got into that situation didn't really work for me, the end result did. Lexi never quite fit in. There wasn't a place for her and the concept of the hybrid wasn't played out well. Lexi's sacrifice gave her a satisfactory ending and allows the final season to be about the Masons, the 2nd Mass and winning the war against the Espheni.

That was the good and the bad of the finale. For the ugly, it has the be the ending. Where is Tom? What happened to him? Is he in a dream state again? What did "I had no idea" mean? Who is "beautiful"? Is it his wife in an alien form? He definitely appeared to recognize the person.

We'll have to wait until next year to find out what that was all about. It could be a brilliant storyline, though I have doubts. At this point, I would have preferred an ending with Tom floating in space.